Lever action firearm



12, 1952 L. A. JENSEN LEVER ACTION FIREARM 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 6. 1949 IN VEN TOR. ZJWEf/VCE 44. Jill/55M BY I ATTORNEYS.

L. A. JENSEN LEVER ACTION FIREARM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sepfi. e, 194

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LEVER ACTION FIREARM Filed S'ept. 6, 1949 4Sheets-Sheet 3 L AMJENSEN LEVER ACTION FIREARM Aug. 12:19.52

#4 sheets-sheet 4 Filed Sept. 6, 1949 Patented Aug. 12, 1952 Y I N W 1; atifi -end t e; mi r ab ii 91 \ativ lxen sidw i snnayts; m 5:; dlffgrent perative pbsmofi frdxri zggslt end y" the v g l5 for projecting flh a maa'iha lever extension 28 when the lever is in the normal or firing position, as illustrated in Figure 1, and the plate is also provided with an opening through which the trigger I 9 extends, the trigger being pivotally mounted in this opening by a pivot pin 29 which extends through a part of the plate and through the trigger.

' The receiver [2 is a'n elongated body of special ly heat-treated metal alloy to resist high -pressures and heavy strains, and is provided with a be used in the firearm, and the bolt M has a length only slightly greater than the length of this cartridge-admitting opening. That is, the bolt I4 is not materially longer than a cartridge, and the receiver I2 is less than twice the length of the bolt, so that the lever-operated bolt action of the present invention permits the use of an extremely short receiver element of the rifle. ti-The-"ibolt 14* has a longitudinally-' extending bore 42'within which is slidably mounted a firing pin 43 which is resiliently urged rearwardly of longitudinally-extending bore 30, the greater por-- -the bolt by a compression spring 44 interposed tion of which is of non-circular crossesectional.

shape. The bore may be provided entirely within the receiver body or, in order to facilitate mane.

ufacture of the receiver, may open to one sideof receiver. At the forward end of the receiver the bore 30 is madev circular and is provided with screw threads or locking threads 32, as particularly illustrated in Figure 4, .whichjreceive the external threads provided onthe barrel I53 at the rear end of the, barrel'to'in'ter-lock thebarrel with the receiver. Thebarrel is provided with the'usu al bor'e13 3 and at the rearor breach en d of the barrel this bore enlarged or counter bored tofprovidethe cartridge chamber 34; In one sidefpre'ferably its. right-hand size, thereceiver I 2 is'prov ided Withan'el ngated opening 35 through. which empty cartridges are ejected from the receiver, and in linejwith this opening is providedinits'bottom wall with an opening 36 through which cartridgespass from the maga zine into' the receiver.

"jAt its rearward end the receiver. 12 is provided with an extension 3 1 projecting downwardly from the bottom wall of the receiver, and this between an annular shoulder on the firing pin and the front end of the bore 42. Near its front or. forwardend the bolt is provided with a transverse opening 45 of a size and shape to slidextends through the reduced extension of the extension is provided with a screw threaded well which receives thescr'ew-threaded end portion of a screw or bolt extendedthrough the plate-Hand; post 23 and threadedinto thereceiver extension 31 to'firr'nlysecure the frameat'its rear end to the receiver at therear end of the latter. Atits forward end the receiver isjprovidecl with a second extension 38 whichproject s downwardly from the bottom side of the-receiver, and. isprovided with a screw-threadedwellwhich, receives albolt ex'tendedthrough thegplate Z2 and through. atu-rf bularspacer, 3 9 and threaded into the wellin the extension 38 to firmly secureethe frame 10 at its forward end to the receiver; at the-forward end of the latter. The frame plate 22 is spaced from the'bottomside of thereceiver and isfpreferably'slightlyinolined forwardly toward there-.- ceiveri a i Near its forward 'end' and. adjacent the exten sion 38, thereCeiverQIZ is provided, inits lower side',"with an aperturedil, the center line .or which is substantially perpendicular to i the centervv line: of thedhhgit'udiriall 'bore' 3D, andthe receiver; is; providedi'at Ithe umie'r ",side'pr the, bore 30 with; a recess Al ,jin alignment with the opening or. aperture j40. The 5 aperture 40, slidably; receives the bolt'lockirig pin-20 and: when, pin. is in' seated position',.-as illustrated in Figure 5,-;its;up, per end is received in the recess 4| so that the locking pin is firmly heldin the receiver;

The bolt '1 4, 'as particularly illustrated in; Fig-- ures 5 and 1I, is an elongated bodyof metal of non-circular and prefer"a .blya substantiallyrectangularicross sectionalfshape having a close. sliding fit in the bore 30 of the receiver. The cartridge admitti'ng opening has-a length just slightly greater than the length or a. cartridge tobolt bore and 'acrqss'the aperture The lockirig pin Ml isbiiurcated, at its upper end, as Darticularly illustrated in Figure 12, "providing, a deep-"notch 41 which receives the extension 46 of theffi'ring pin when the locking, pin'is moved was" boltloclring position, as illustrated in Fig; urea, .The locking, pin 20 is'operated by the lever [5 to lochand release the bolt 14in a manner pres-' ently to be described.

The'b'olt" I4 is cutaway on its side adjacent the opening 35 fromthe rear end to a position intermediate the length of the bolt to provide a recess. terminating at, its'front endin an inclined shoulder 48, and forwardly of this recess the bolt is, also recessedtoprovide an arcuate' shoulder, 49 spaced from the frontend of the bolt,1the two recesses providing a stepped formation in'the side (oi, the belt. Adjacent the shoulder '49 the bolt is' provided .[with a screw-threaded aperture 50' whichextendstothe bore 42,.and a, screw 5l, particularly illustrated in Figure '4,"is threaded into'this recess and has, at its inner end, a small extension 52 received in a notch 53 in the firing pin 43. to limit longitudinal movement of the firing piriin the bolt; The head of the screw 5| 'is cylindrical and projects outwardly from the side oi the bolt at the outer end offaperture 50 a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the shoulder .49.

the "bolt, andlwitha jsma'lfbore 56 extending rrom'thefiont end of the groove 55 to the frontend of the bolt. An ejector pin 51 is slidably mounted in; the bore 56: and extends rearwardly in the groove 55'. This pin is provided on its rearward end with an abutment block 58 which bears against the inner end-of ascrew 59 thread-, ed through a screw-threaded;apertureprovided;

in the side wall of thereceiver, and-atension' sprin -60 interposed between the block 58-and theffronten'd of] the groove 55 in thereceiver resiliently maintains the block 58 against th screw 59; With this-arrangement, when the bolt l14= is moved rearwardlyinthe receiver with the li-p;6l' of the-extractor 54 engagin'g the rim of a cartridge, the rim of the cartridge at the side thereof opposite the lip 6| will strikethe forward end of the ej'ector 51 substantially at the time the front end of the bolt reaches therea'r end of the opening 35, and the cartridge will: be thrown out through the openi 35, as indicated in dotted lines in Figured. a v

The lever 15' has, at one endj-a finger loop t which is disposed immediatelyfto the rearof the trigger I9 when thelever is in the normal or firing position, as'illustrated in-Figures- 1 and- 5', and

has, immediately ahead of the loop '65, a curved, trigger-guard portion 66 which is pierced near of aperture 69, so that the detent membercannot moveout of the aperture. The aperture, at

its end opposite this internal shoulder, is provided with screw threads and "a plug H1 is threaded into this end of the aperture, and a compression spring H is disposed in the aperture between the detent member 68 and the plug '10 to resiliently urge the hemispherical end portion ofthe detent member outwardly of the aper: ture.' "'lThe frame plateZZ is provided in the opening thereof receiving the extension 67! with arecess in which'the detent member 68 engages to. releasably latch the lever [5 in its normal or firing position; 1

Beyond the extension 61 the lever extends to a head" and has a thumb 73 spaced from the head 12 and separated from the head by a roundednotch 14., j ff The link [6 is pivotally connected at its for-1 ward end to the bolt M by the head screw 5! which is received in an aperture provided in the link, and the link has its side adjacent the bolt stepped to substantially contact the stepped surfacesof the recessed side of the bolt. Near its fre'eor rearward end, the link I5 is provided with an elongated, transverse slot '56 in which the head 12 is received. Theopposite sides or corners of the head are arcuately rounded so'that the head can easily turn in this lot 16 in the link.

With this arrangement, when the finger loop portion 55 of the lever I5 is moved downwardly and forwardly from the position illustrated in Figure 1 to the position illustrated in Fi ure 3, thehead l2, engaged in the slot 16 of the link I 6, will movethe link rearwardly andthe link will, in turn-move the bolt rearwardly to a position in which thebolt uncovers the opening 35, and its rear end extends rearwardly of thereceiver I2, as particularly illustrated in Figure 3. The receiver I2 is provided, at its rear end, with a downwardly and-rearwardly-inclined, internal ramp 1'! which ment of the lever head about the axis of the pivot pin-21.

The bore 30 in the receiver opens to'the rear; end of the receiver, and a small trap door 18 1s. pivotally connected at its upper end toxthe re ceiver at the upper side of the bore and is efiece tive to close this rear endof the bore whenthe bolt is within the receiver to prevent foreign matter from entering the bore of. the receiver and'also to prevent theejection :of'oil or smoke from the gun in the event a" cartridge primer should be punctured by thefiring pin: 'Whenthe rear end of the bolt l4 projects out of-the rear end of the receiver, as illustrated in Figure 3, the door EB-is swung upwardly out of the way against the force of a small spring detent 19 mounted in a recess provided in the upper side of the receiver at the rear end of the latter.-

Itwill be noted that the rear end of the-receiver is inclined forwardly and upwardly to somewhat follow the contour of the topedge of the gun. stock andavoid personal injury in theevent that the rear end of the receivershouldcome into contact with the face of a person firing the ride when the rifle is subjected to recoil. r

A hammer: pin is mounted at'its rearward end in a well in the post 23 and is inclined upwardly and forwardly between this post and the rear end of the magazine box 24 within the space between the plate 22 and the receiver providing;

a hammer-receiving chamber. A hammer 8| is provided with 'a transverse aperture in which the pin 80 is slidably received, and a coiled compression spring 82 surrounds the pin between the hammer and the post 23 to drive the hammer forwardly and into contact with an anvil 83 provided on the rear end of the firing pin 43'. The hammer is provided with a dog 8t andwith 'a downwardly-extending tooth or projection 85 forwardly of and adjacent the dog.- A sear 86 is pivotally connected at its rear end to the post plate 22 with an extension 89 which extends past the sear and carries a pin 99 engaging in a notch provided in the upper edge of the'sear at a location ahead of the trigger pin 29 so that when the trigger is pulled rearwardly the front end of the sear will be pulled downwardly against the force of spring 88. l

Adjacent the: extension 61, the lever I5'is provided with a recess SI and a pawl 92 pivo'tally mounted in this recess by a pivot pin 93, a'nd is engageable with. the tooth 85 on the hammer; With the hammer in its released position, which it occupiesafter the rifle has been fired, and with the" lever l5 in'its normal or firing position, both as illustrated in Figure 1, when the loop portion 65 of the lever is moved downwardly and forwardly, the pawl 92 contacting at its rear side, the front side of the hammer tooth 85 will force the hammer rearwardly'along the guide pin 80 until the dog 84 is engaged by the detent of the sear 86, after which the pawl passes below the lower end of the tooth, so that the lever can be moved through its complete range of movement to the limiting position illustrated in Figure 3.-

When the lever is then returned to the firing position, the hammer is left in cocked position, being held in such position by the sear 85 with the spring 82- compressed. When the trigger is then pulled, the dog 84 is released from the sear and the? hammer is driven forwardly, striking the firing pin anvil Wand-firing a cartridge in the chamber 34. In order to cushion the impact of the hammer. tooth 85 against the pawl 92, the pawlis pivotally mounted in the'lever reces 9| ina manner suchthat it has a very slight freedom of movement, a few thousandths-of-an-inch being sufficient, and is resiliently urged toward the hammer tooth by acompression spring 94 seated in a..well in the lever and bearing against the inner side of the pawl at aglocation spaced from thepivot pin 93. l 'j During the initial part of the movement of the leverfrom the normal or firing position,.illus trated in Figure 1, toward the position illustrated in Figure 3, the thumb. I3 of the. lever contacts the under side of the rearward end of the arm 2|, raising this rearward end of the arm and pulling the forward end. ofthe arm downwardly. The forwardend of the arm 2| is pivotally connected to the locking pin 20 through a lost-motion connection including a boss 95 on the locking pin extending through an elongated aperture in the arm, and as the rearward end of the arm is raised and theforward end lowered, the locking pin 20 will be pulled downwardly out of the recess 4| in the upper portion of the receiver and out of the recess 45 in the bolt I4, thereby freeing the bolt for rearward movement in the receiver. As is clearly illustrated in Figure 1, the head'l2 of the lever I5 is spaced sufliciently from the rear end of the slot I6 in thelink I6 to permit the locking pin to be fully withdrawn before the lever head begins to move the link I6 and bolt I4 rearwardly. After the pin has been withdrawn sufllciently to clear the bolt, the head I2 contacts the shoulder at the rear end of the slot I6 and moves the bolt rearwardly, as explained above, until the shell of the fired cartridge is ejected through the opening 35 and a fresh cartridge is fed into the receiver from the magazine. Reversing the movement of lever I5 will now move the link I6 and bolt I4 forwardly, forcing the new cartridge into the barrel chamber 34, but the lever head will not contact the rear end of arm 2I until the bolt has been moved completely to its forward position. After the bolt has been brought to its limiting, forward position, the lever head contacts the rear end of arm 2|, and the front end of arm 2| is raised, inserting the locking pin through the aperture in the bolt and into the recess 4| in the upper part of the receiver to lock the bolt against rearward movement relative to the receiver when the cartridge is'fired.

The arm 2| is pivotally mounted, intermediate its length, on an apertured lug 96 extending upwardly from the plate 22 by a pivot screw 91 extending through theaperture in the'lug 9E and threaded into the arm' and a V-shaped spring I30 is interposed between this arm and the frame plate 22 to resiliently urge the arm about the pivot pin 91 in a direction to withdraw thelocking pin 20. This spring thus assists the hand lever I5 in withdrawing the locking pin and holds the locking pin in withdrawn position while the bolt is to the rear of its firing position.

A safety lock for the rifl is particularly illustrated in Figure 6, and comprises a small, flat bar 98 pivotally connected at its forward end to the plate 22 by a pivot pin 99, and having near its rearward end a T-oshaped opening I00.

The trigger-carried pin 90 projects through the T-shaped opening I00 and the arrangement is such that the trigger cannot be moved to release the sear unless the pin is opposite the stem portion of the T- -shaped opening. A small spring IOI resiliently urges the rear end of the bar 98 upwardly, so that the pin 90 will be located in the lower end portion of the cross of the T-shaped opening, and the'trigger will be locked. A stud I02 extending laterally from the bar 98, near the front end of the latter, is contacted by the top of the extension 28 of the lever I5 when the lever is brought to firing position, and the rear end of the lever is moved downwardly by this contact to bring the stem portion of the T-shapedopening opposite the pin 90, so that the trigger can be removed to release the sear from the hammer. A bell crank I03 is pivotally mounted, at its end, on the screw 59 and has one leg I04 extending downwardly substantially to the top edge of the bar 98. The other leg of this bell crank constitutes a handle I05 by means of which the bell crank can be moved about the screw 59. When the handle I05 is raised, the leg I04 of the bell crank is moved rearwardly at its lower end and contacts the bar 98 forcing the rearward end of the bar downwardly against the force of spring IOI until the pin 90 is in the upper end portion of the cross'of the Tshaped opening I00, so that the trigger is locked and cannot be moved to release the sear from the hammer. In order to fire the gun, the lever I5 must be moved completely to its firing position, insuring that the locking pin 20 is fully projected through the bolt and into the recess 4| in the receiver, and the handle I05 must be in firing position.

The door I08 of the magazine box is pivotally connected at its forward end to the plate 22 by a hinge pin I01, and the latch 25 comprises an arm disposed against the lower or outer side of the door, a stem I08 extending through an'aperture in the door near the rearward end of the latter, and a latch dog I09 secured to the stem at the inner side of the door and having a beveled end engageable in a notch provided in the inner side of the rear wallof the magazine box 24.

Anelevator arm H0 is disposed in the magazine box 24 and pivotally connected at its forward end to the door I06 near the forward end of the latter and a leaf spring III resiliently urges the rearward end of this arm upwardly to raise the cartridges from the magazine box into the receiver through the opening 36 as the bolt I4 is actuated by the lever I5.

The screws I I2 and I I3, by means of which the frame I0 is secured to the receiver I2, are clearly illustrated in Figure 5 and may be of a construction well known to gunsmiths.

A modified form of locking pin, as shown in Figure 3, is of square or rectangular cross-section instead f circular cross-section, as illustrated in Figure 12. When the rectangular locking pin is used, the apertures and 45 and the recess 4| will be made of rectangular shape, and the pin M will be firmly held against any tendency to rotate in the receiver. Otherwise, the construction and operation of the pin, generally indicated at H5 and illustrated in Figure 13, is the same as the pin 20, illustrated in Figure 12.

In the modified arrangement shown in Figure 10, the firing pin 43 terminates at the rearward side of the locking-pin-receiving aperture 45 in the bolt I4, and a' firing pin extension is carried in the modified locking pin, generally indicated at IIB.

A transverse bore I I1 is provided in the pin I I6 and the firing pin extension I I8 extends through this bore to the front end of the bolt. A countercompression .spring [2| disposed between the front end of the counterbore H9 and the enlargement I20 resiliently urges'the firing pin extension ll! rearwardly and this rearward movement is limited by a pin IZZ- extending from the "locking'pin into an elongatedslot I23 provided t in'the enlargement I20 sion.

of the firing pin exten- -With this construction, when'the firing pin 43 i is struck by the hammer I 1., it strikes the exten-,

sion H8 and drives this extension forwardly of the bolt M to fire a cartridge held in the chamber 34 by the bolt. This construction avoids the necessity of bifurcating the locking pin in order to have the lockingpinstraddle the portion of the firing pin extending through the locking-pinreceiving aperture in the bolt.

The invention may be embodied in other spe cific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. In a lever operated rifle bolt action, a receiver having a bore extending longitudinally therethrough and a transversely extending aperture adjacent the front end thereof, a bolt longitudinally slidable in said bore toward and away from a breech closing position therein and having near its front end a transversely extending aperture registering with the aperture in said receiver when said bolt is in said breech closing position, a frame attached to said receiver and extending longitudinally of the latter in spaced relationship thereto, a hand lever pivotally mounted intermediate its length on said frame for swinging movement about an axis transverse to the frame and having one end disposed within the latter and adjacent to the bolt, means including a link connecting one end of said lever to said bolt for movement of the latter toward and away from said breech closing position upon swinging movement of said hand lever, said means providing a limited freedom of swinging movement of said hand lever without moving said bolt when said bolt is in said breech closing position, a locking pin slidably received in the aperture in said receiver and received in the aperture in said bolt when the latter is in its breech closing position to positively lock said bolt in said breech closing position against recoil forces, an arm pivotally connected near one end to said frame for rocking movement about a second axis transverse to said frame and connected at its other end to said locking pin, means on said one end of said hand lever engaging said one end of said arm when said bolt is in said breech closing position and effective upon movements of said hand lever within said limited freedom of movement to move said locking pin into and out of locking engagement with said bolt, and spring means acting between said arm and said frame resiliently urging said locking pin out of locking engagement with said bolt.

2. In a lever operated rifle bolt action, a re-- ceiver' having a bore' extending longitudinally therethrough an'd a transversely extending aperture adjacent the front endthereof, a bolt longitudinally slidable intosaid bore to and away from -a breech Closing position in said receiver and having near its front 'end a' transversely extending aperture registering withthe aperture in said'r'ec'eiverwhen said bolt is in said breech closing positiom a frame attached to said receiver and extending longitudinally of the latter in spaced relationship thereto, a hand lever pivotally m'ounted intermediate'its length on said frame for swinging movement about an axis transverse to said frame and having one end disposed within the fram and adjacent said bolt, a link disposed-longitudinally of one side of said 1 bolt 'andhaving a laterally opening-recess near one end thereof, means pivotally connecting said link near its other end to said bolt, a head on said one end of said hand lever received in the recess in said link for moving said bolt to and away from said breech closing position upon swinging movement of said lever, said head having a lost motion in said recess providing a limited freedom of swinging movement of said lever without moving said bolt when the latter is in its breech closing position, a locking pin slidably received in the aperture in said receiver and received in the aperture in said bolt when the latter is in its breech closing position to positively lock said bolt in said breech closing position against recoil forces, an arm pivotally connected near one end to said frame for lOCkiIlg movements about a second axis transverse to said frame and connected at its other end to said locking pin, and means on said one end of said hand lever engaging said one end of said arm when said bolt is in said breeching closing position and effective upon movement of said hand lever within said limited freedom of movement to move said locking pin into and out of locking engagement with said bolt.

3. In a lever operated rifle bolt action, a receiver havin a bor extending longitudinally therethrough and atransversely extending aperture adjacent the front end thereof, a bolt longitudinally slidable into said bore to and away from said breech closing position and having near its front end a transversely extending aperture registering with the aperture in said receiver when said bolt is in said breech closing position, a frame attached to said receiver and extending longitudinally of the latter in spaced relationship thereto, a hand lever pivotally mounted intermediate its length on said frame for swinging movement about an axis transverse to said frame and having one end disposed within the frame and adjacent said belt, a link disposed longitudinally of one side of said bolt and having a laterally opening recess near one end thereof, means pivotally connecting said link near its other end to said bolt, a head on said one end of said hand lever received in the recess in said link for moving said bolt to and away from said breech closing position upon swinging movement of said lever, said head having a lost motion in said recess providing a limited freedom of swinging movement of said lever Without moving said bolt when the latter is in its breech closing position, a locking pin slidably received in the aperture in said receiver and received in the aperture in said bolt when the latter is in its breech closing position to positively lock said bolt in said breech closing position against recoil forces, an arm pivotally connected near one end to said frame for rocking movements about a second axis transverse vof said frame .and connected at its other end to said locking pin, and means on said one end of said hand lever engaging said one end of said arm when said bolt is in said breech closing position and efiective upon movement of said hand lever within said limited freedom of movement to move said locking pin into and out of locking engagement with said bolt, said receiver having at its rear end an inclined ramp engaging said one end of said link and constraining the latter to follow the swinging'movements of said lever head about the first mentioned axis.

LAWRENCE. A. JENSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Sullenberger Nov; 10, 1885 Redfield Feb. 28, 1888 Shafer Sept. 2, 1890 Laumann Feb. 26, 1895 Bennett Sept. 3, 1895 Davenport Oct. 26, 1897 Browning Aug. 27, 1907 Redfield Mar. 25, 1913 Hochstein Dec. 16, 1919 Hammond May 22, 1923 Collins Oct. 9, 1945 Tassan Oct. 31, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France June 4, 1920 

